United Press International - Hi-Tech - CSL, Nokia in online printing service

CSL, Nokia in online printing service

HONG KONG, June 16 (UPI) -- Hong Kong's CSL will launch an online printing service based on Nokia technology.
CSL will be the first global company to use Nokia's print mobile imaging solution, which is expected to make ordering photo prints taken from camera phones easier.
Camera-phone users will be able to access the service immediately with no need for a personal computer or a separate photo printer, as they select the images they want printed, insert an address and order prints.
'Camera phones offer people a unique ability to spontaneously capture moments wherever and whenever they want,' said Bruce Lam, general manager of customer and market operations of mobile phones at Nokia Hong Kong. 'The quality of advanced camera devices, such as the Nokia N80, makes printing these images a reality. While Nokia users have previously been able to enjoy the benefits of home and retail printing, the new service will help consumers 'unlock' images from their phone, order high-quality prints over the air, and have them delivered directly to their doorstep.'"

Documentary shot with cell phone camera

Italian filmmakers used a Nokia N90, a higher-end cell phone sold around the world, to produce the 93-minute "New Love Meetings," which they say is the first feature film to be entirely shot with a camera phone.

"To use a small instrument that belongs to people's daily routine allows you to establish an intimate dialogue, instead of using a regular camera," said the film director.

Hewlett-Packard buys Switzerland's Silverwire

Hewlett-Packard Co. bought Silverware Holding AG, a Swiss digital photography company for an undisclosed price.
Palo Alto-based H-P (NYSE: HPQ) is a printer and computer company with 150,000 employees. Silverware is based in Zug, Switzerland. It is a commercial digital photography company which operates kiosks in 30 countries. It also sells software that connects the photographic and printing equipment in a retail photo store.

H-P has been making moves into the digital photography market for several years. In March 2005 it bought Snapfish, an online photo company in San Francisco.
The Silverware deal should close by the end of September. Silverware will become part of H-P's imaging and printing business.

Photo messaging lags due to customer ignorance

From RCRNews

Port Washington, N.Y.-- Carriers may not be earning the additional revenue they expected from the popularity of camera phones, according to new research from The NPD Group, Inc.

In less than four years, camera phones have found their way into the pockets and purses of more than half of all mobile subscribers in the United States, and most of those customers say they are satisfied with their camera phone purchase, said the report.

"When these devices were first introduced, carriers expected to earn additional revenue from subscribers who chose to take, share and print photos," said Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices at The NPD Group. "But for the most part that hasn't happened. Instead, we've seen consumers simply taking photos and leaving them on their phones, which obviously doesn't enhance carriers' balance sheets."

The NPD Group said its research indicates only one-fifth of consumers send photos wirelessly, with the rest leaving their photos on their phones. The firm said education could be key for carriers to prompt more photo sharing, as 60 percent of camera phone users say they are less likely to send a picture message because they don't know how much it will cost.

Pushing Camera Phones To Print - Forbes.com

Pushing Camera Phones To Print
Danit Lidor, 05.03.06, 12:00 PM ET

New York -
It might seem like camera phones are everywhere these days, but by the end of 2006, there will be twice as many of them--doubling to 112 million from 69 million units last year. Yet, a study released by a research firm this week sent a tough message to the makers of camera phones and photo printers, as well as wireless carriers hoping to profit from all those camera phone pictures.
According to consumer and retail research firm NPD Group, about 73% of consumers surveyed are generally satisfied with their camera phones and more than 80% of those who use the camera feature on their phones save the picture on the phone. But that's where the cash flow stops. Only 20% of them send the images over wireless networks, 14% upload them to a computer and about 3% print the pictures.
"Consumers are mostly using the camera phone as a digital photo album," says Neil Strother, the NPD analyst who wrote the report. "Sharing, storing and printing…are not the predominant usage."
Imaging analysis firm Lyra Research, calculates that 1 billion camera phone pictures were snapped in North America in 2004, but only 150 million of those images ever moved from the phone. In 2005, though the number of raw images doubled to five billion, only 900 million went anywhere. And the trend is expected to continue into 2006: raw camera phone pictures are expected to more than double again to 11 billion by the end of the year, while the number of pictures transmitted will still lag behind at 2.5 billion.
If so many people are snapping camera phone pictures, why aren't they doing anything with them?
"One of the biggest hurdles is that image quality is pretty low," says Strother. As an example, take a look at Motorola's (nyse: MOT - news - people ) best-selling RAZR camera phone. Despite a hefty price tag and fashionable styling, it's outfitted with outdated VGA camera technology and a relatively small display screen. (Vector graphic array technology has an image resolution of up to 640-by-480 pixels).
"Quality dictates what people do with their pictures," he says. "If it doesn't look good on the phone, they aren't going to take the next step."
Better looking pictures will make a difference to consumers, but affordability and ease of use are just as essential. Costs associated with photo printers and kiosks are coming down, but while the devices are equipped to accommodate every sort of camera, direct printing from camera phones without a removable memory card, wireless or Bluetooth capability (features only high-end phones have) is impossible.
Imaging companies like Fuji Photo Film (nasdaq: FUJIY - news - people ), Eastman Kodak (nyse: EK - news - people ) and Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) have stated that camera phone prints are part of their long-term strategy, but such innovation is hard to come by. Last fall, Fuji introduced a direct-from-handset-to retail-print-location service, but other companies have not followed its lead. (See: " Fuji Helps Develop Pics From Your Handset.")
And at CES this year, Kodak announced a 10-year research partnership with Motorola. The photo company has said the resulting phones will offer better printing and uploading options but they are nowhere near the marketplace. (See: " After Rough Year, Kodak's Perez Wows 2006 CES.")
Still it's not just manufacturers that are lagging behind. Wireless service carriers like Verizon Communications' (nyse: VZ - news - people ) Verizon Wireless, Deutsche Telekom's (nyse: DT - news - people ) T-Mobile and Sprint (nyse: S - news - people ) trumpet their text-messaging services and monthly minutes plans, but rarely mention picture sharing. "Consumers are a bit timid about sending pictures because they are uncertain about costs," Strother says. "Carriers need to do a better job of promoting those services."
In fact, though the industry predicts that digital print revenue will reach about $4.3 billion by the end of this year, only 3.5% of that revenue will be from camera phone prints. And there hasn't been any tracking of revenue from camera phone image wireless transmission at all, says Lyra analyst Steve Hoffenberg.
Getting those images off the phones and onto computer hard drives, Web photo-sharing sites and printers is the next step toward profiting from the camera phone trend, he says.
Unquestionably the "next generation of [camera phone] revenue stream has hit some bumps," Strother says, but once all the players have found their "sweet spot," the market should smooth out in the next few years.
"It’s a big ecosystem if someone can connect all the dots."

How many Java devices today?

Jave ME Device Table

Camera Phones Account for 87% of Mobile Phone Shipments in 2010

- The total number of images captured on camera phones will reach 228 billion by 2010, exceeding the number of photos taken on digital still cameras and film cameras combined.
For many consumers, the camera phone will be their everyday camera. Camera phones will put immense competitive pressures on one-time use cameras and low-end cameras.
- The rapid growth of camera phones will create growing opportunities for printing and sharing of images. The value of camera phone photo printing will reach approximately $7.0 billion by 2010, approximately 60% of which will take place in the home.
Image messaging revenue will reach $6.8 billion by 2010, and will increasingly become a part of other value-added multimedia services."

Reiter's Camera Phone Report: Statistics - Camera phones

"As the market moves towards an early majority phase, behaviors will change accordingly. For example, the number of images captured per month has been cut by more than 60% from 2004 to 2005. The cause of this decline can be attributed to some consumers no longer purchasing camera phones for ‘fun’ and ‘spontaneity,’ but rather because the handset was the most affordable and had the best overall features.”"

Cell Phone Fees That Sneak Up on You

"Using your camera-enabled cell phone to send pictures is even more expensive: Cingular and Verizon both charge 25 cents per picture message sent or received (plus data charges if you're not on an all-you-can-eat plan). With Sprint, if you don't have a Power Vision plan, you must pay $5 a month for access to its Picture Mail service, plus 2 cents per KB for each photo you upload. Consequently, sending a typical 50KB image would cost $1 on top of the $5 fee. That's a lot more than the U.S. Postal Service charges for a picture postcard."